Telemarketing Jobs

Written by Jeremy Horelick

Telemarketing jobs have undergone a unique transformation in just the past few years. Legislation curtailing the activities of telemarketers has led to drastic changes in an industry that generates billions of dollars each year. Even if only one or two percent of telephone sales pitches are successful, the industry as a whole rakes in a staggering number of dollars, which says something about the total volume of calls that are placed each day.

Thanks to these new government regulations, that volume hasn't merely dipped--it's practically disappeared. The new "Do Not Call" directory allows anyone with a residential phone line to request total privacy and penalizes those companies that violate these people's wishes. The only exceptions that are made are for charities and companies with pre-existing customer relationships. As a result, businesses are finding new and clever ways of establishing these "pre-existing" accounts.

The Future of Telemarketing Jobs

Nobody can rightly say what the future holds for telemarketing jobs, but one thing is clear: the laws passed in 2003 directly or indirectly put tens of thousands of people out of work. As annoying as dinner-time phone calls from credit card companies can be, such calls kept many low-wage workers employed, which in turn helped juice the economy. Without these telemarketing jobs, many folks have been forced to find new work.

Critics of low-wage telecom jobs argue that this has had a positive effect. By compelling eight-, nine-, and 10-dollar-an-hour workers to develop new job skills, these laws have actually helped boost the economy. Those who work at the unemployment office might beg to differ, however, as they see a wholly different side of this reality. Call center jobs may not be glamorous, but they do manage to keep people fed and clothed.